Dora the Explora Makes Me Want to Shoot Myself

I try to avoid movies or t.v. shows that are heavy with marketing and merchandising. My daughter likes to watch Winnie the Pooh, Yo Gabba Gabba and Bambi. Of course, these come with their own set of stuffed animals and clothing, but nothing comes close to the marketing of Disney’s Princesses and Nick’s Dora the Explorer.

My daughter’s friend, a boy, is really into Dora. I mention that he is a boy because Nickelodeon, for some reason, felt it necessary to have a boy, Diego, and girl, Dora, version of the same Latino adventurer character as if one gender could not empathize with another. Anyway, my daughter showed interest, so I went as far as to borrow a DVD of Dora from the library. Do I regret it! Read more »

Super Nanny: Super Crazy

Coo Coo!

I never realized how absolutely crazy Super Nanny was until I watched an episode tonight. I haven’t watched this since my daughter was young and prior to reading all the parenting books I have now read. I think I secretly indulged in watching the terrible parents make me feel better about myself. Yet, tonight after watching, I have realized that this woman is an egomaniac, power freak with a grandiose personality disorder.

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Spring Break Road Trip ’09: Day 1

I have traveled all over the world under intense and difficult situations, such as sleeping on a centipede infested mattress on a dirt floor in India or vacating a bus due to a bomb threat in Israel or paying a quarter for a Chinese bathroom (you’d have to smell it to believe it). Yet traveling with children requires a whole new set of skills and rules that I wasn’t quite prepared for. We’ve traveled with my daughter several times now including our five week road trip to New Orleans last spring. But not yet a mobile toddler, I was able to sit her in the corner with toys and take care of dinner. Now that she is walking, and does not care to be held for long, a new breed of vigilance is required. Read more »